VICTORY CIRCLES

machines reach for outer space and men are being trained to ride them we've developed fuels of amazing power fashion metal for undreamed speeds we control these giants but at the final moment we can only watch we cannot write them into the unknown yet on earth men have written missiles into the unknown in these garages they are built by men for men to drive on this launching pad the Indianapolis Motor Speedway men and missiles have been tested for 50 years but on this the Daytona International Speedway half a continent away the record books have yet to be written at indianapolis the fastest racing cars in the world at Daytona the fastest stock passenger cars in the world missiles guided by men toward victory launched from the pits at Indianapolis you leave the world your vehicles are as strange as complex as finally made and as difficult to control as missiles designed for outer space you become the thinking part of a machine each year you must start over again searching for answers within yourself reaching for the fastest way around on a racetrack originally designed for 90 miles an hour you must average better than a hundred 40 miles an hour run the straightaways at a hundred seventy the unknown is a fearful challenge beyond 145 miles an hour no one knows the speedway a puff of wind a response to slower to fast an error in judgment of 1/100 of a second any one of these a day later he's ready to try again it becomes an act of faith to look at the wall straight on and keep the throttle down to drive this track at speed or conquer outer space require solution of similar problems a racecar like a rocket is a lightweight frame for a powerful engine but the racecar has a seat engines are limited in size only the most exact tuning can squeeze extra horsepower through constant improvement and research mechanics and auto experts have managed to develop more power while increasing engine life many products first tested here at Indianapolis now our standard equipment on America's highways recent developments of the speedway include the repositioning of the engine so it runs while lying on its side the mechanic and designer of car number three place this engine horizontally and gave driver Johnny Thompson a car which qualified it better than a hundred forty six and one-half miles an hour a new Indianapolis record AJ Watson veteran mechanic and car builder for roger ward has improved his engine performance while running them in the conventional position watson has been twice the winning mechanic at indianapolis only a few years ago a sign like this in an indianapolis garage was a practical joke or wishful thinking today because of improved products and the knowledge gained from racing the American automobiles passenger car or racing car is a better machine qualifications drew 100,000 fans the race 200,000 433 acres of people to watch men and machines race 500 miles the sorting out is done these are the fastest out of gasoline alley out of the garages to the pits evenly matched no car slower than a hundred and forty-one miles an hour none faster than a hundred and forty six there's a threat of rain but Roger Ward is ready he told newsmen I wouldn't take second place money now if they gave it him Tony Benton Heusen 42 year old National Champion has won more races in big cars than any of the others but not at Indianapolis this is his fourteenth try at the 500 Jim Rassman 20 seconds from victory two years ago this year he wants to win brother dick Rathmann fast powerful Johnny boy finished third last year Jimmy Bryan last year's winner his car was all over the garage floor just before the race the cars are ready 11 rows three cars to a row then Tony Hulman Speedway president calls the final countdown the pace lap begins a slow lap to pick up speed for a flying start this is not the fastest place on earth but here is competition automobiles have gone twice as fast on a you toss off plans but here is the thrill of top speed in traffic strapped to rocket sleds missile men have been carried for short distances at tremendous speed but here is a 500-mile race something is wrong a car not started it's Jimmy Brian and number six the former winner the crew rolled the car clear of the track in less than a half minute the field will be charging down the front straightaway out of the fourth turn 32 cars are gathering speed heading for the green flag the pace car pulls into the pit area and the race is on inside front load jumps to the lead a living tornado tears into the first turn a string out running in the groove the fast smooth way around the turns Jimmy Brian isn't going anywhere much trouble triples George Sally's car the heartbreaks of bracing Roger Ward moves into striking position Thompson is averaging a 140 miles an hour but Ward tries a past suddenly it is our race Roger Ward and Watson's car takes a lead in the first turn a spin any sacks a number 44 slides a thousand feet barely missing Tony Benton housing taxes out of danger as bill Vander water throws the yellow flag warning all other drivers to reduce speed and hold position any Sachs is okay he stays in his car and an emergency vehicle gives him a tow dirt track style Sachs restarts his engine there's the green the track is clear for high-speed and Sachs limbs to the pits for new tires and a check up there on it again with Ward still in front battling is way to second place Jim Rassman in number 16 bears down on Roger Warren Jim Rothman gets by he's on first place pat priority winner in 1956 charges from 18th position to third a J Watson checks the action from wards pit according to plan Ward is not running fall out making certain he will go the distance with only three pit stops it's a calculated risk while other Watson built machines are running wheel the wheel at better than a hundred forty-four miles an hour Jim Rassman and Pat Bertie are in a furious fight for the lead troubling third turn look at Chuck quiet and Mike McGill spin Judd Larson's in trouble McGill on his back slides across the track Wyatt races to get McGill out of the wreck Miguel is pinned inside ready makes car tangled with Larsson's and is also out of the race Larson has also run to Miguel's rack why'm Larson and Amick aren't even stretched and McGill is not seriously injured but all four cars are out of the race on the caution laps Jim Rassman gives up the lead and comes to his pit like the first page of Iraq his car is burned out it must be refueled and fitted with new tires 27 seconds and ready to go and here comes Roger Ward for his pit stop Watson and his super service station jump on the car specially designed pneumatic jacks are built into the car five men and only five are allowed over the pit ball to change tires and refuel this device breeze the crew and saves a handful of seconds in 22 seconds word rolls out in second place gunning his engine smoothly blending with the traffic as he picks up speed searching for Thompson the leader rape Alfred hits the wall his fuel tanks blitz again the caution signal slows traffic while firefighters douse the flame and Crawford not critically injured is help from the cockpit Johnny Thompson in the pits and this may cost him the race one extra pit stop gives Roger Ward his big chance Ward in number 5 now has a tight grip on first place Thompson out of the pits in 20 seconds but a damaged portion bar makes his car difficult to happen board in the lead but Jim Rothman makes his bid he's only six seconds behind ward the mechanics know that this is the showdown Ajay Watson and Jack Begley Rathbun's mechanic weighed out the last 40 laps Jim rappin's brother dick races into the pits for fuel and new tires Pitts action has been amazing this afternoon one car after another taking on 60 gallons of fuel in less than half a minute something's wrong dick Rothman is on fire spilled fuel coming in contact with hot metal ignites but Batman stays with that car he wants to race oh that Cedars to hawk dick Rothman is out of his car and he's really hot around the collar the fire is under control but the car is out of the race Rathmann heads for the garage sore as a sunburn ward ticks off the last laps running smoothly for a new record his crew and Bob Wilkie the car owner are riding with him Jim Rassman passes everybody in sight but Ward won't be caught Ward is running a hundred forty miles per hour Thompson handling the car beautifully despite a shift in the chassis balance is running hard in third place Ward comes down the main straightaway to take the white play he's on his last lap Watson can only wait for his driver to come around for the last time and there he is out of the fourth turn and roaring for the checkered flag Roger Ward wins the 43rd Indianapolis 500 and the checkered flag wait for Jim Rassman in second place 20 seconds too late this is mechanic Watson's third Indianapolis victory the man who built the cars that finished one - and his mechanic for the winners Johnny Thompson takes third his flat engine car now hold the fastest lap time ever clock in a five hundred five hundred forty five point four miles an hour mechanics will remember this when they build for next year here comes Roger Ward rolling to the winner's circle in his ninth tie at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway he rolls down the path of gold and glory or chair of the Speedway purse of $330,000 is more than a hundred and six thousand dollars both the purse and the winner Sheridan our new records for auto racing and the winners reward a kiss from film star Erin O'Brien ha grimy deafened by the roar of his engine and happy the 38 year old former fighter pilot shares his victory with wife Joe and their mascot Skippy Roger worn riding a rocket has gone where no man has ever been five hundred miles at record speed for the Indianapolis track the shape of speed first seen in racing cars has become a symbol of our age the sound of speed salutes race day at the new Daytona International Speedway the largest crowd ever gathered at Daytona Beach Florida waits for the stock cars to run this is the first 500-mile race ever run at Daytona Beach this is a racetrack for cars not yet built in practice stock passenger cars have turned laps at a hundred forty-five miles an hour on a race track which has been designed for speeds up to 200 miles an hour the mechanics and auto experts can do no more it's up to the drivers now the pace that begins one slow lap before a flying start on a 2 and 1/2 mile Speedway three million dollars to build out of the pit road into the main straightaway leading to the first turn a turn bank 31 degrees in practice stock cars have run at a hundred forty-five miles an hour but how fast can they go in competition passing other cars measuring their nerve and skill while invisible forces strain and twist the chassis at racing speed the engine threatens to rip itself apart is a living force slamming drivers sideways coming off the corner 59 drivers dare to learn about their cars and themselves on what is designed to be the fastest racetrack in the world how fast can they go 500 miles from now they'll know the race is on in half a lap the league changes twice fritzsche Wilson rookie leads them through the first turn trying to stay in front out of the swirling tornado of traffic on the back stretch Wilson hits a hundred and forty miles an hour roaring up on the third turn the lead changes Bob well burns number 49 sets the pace in five laps the pattern becomes clear the leaders wait for a passing chance run in front then drop back saving their cars the early leaders Bob Wellborn Joe Weatherly Tom fist Tony measure each other in short bursts of speed man wait for challengers to work their way through the field the lead changes six times in the first 30 mile the first 50 miles are run in 23 minutes 142 miles an hour the fastest official time ever recorded by stock cars on a closed course Bob Wellborn in the Chevrolet and Tom Pistone Ian a Thunderbird blazing the trail but half a lap behind coming from 46 starting position a black and gold comet is working through the field fireball Robertson number 3 Pontiac rim riding in a hundred and forty five miles an hour fireball Roberts has passed 34 cars in one of the most amazing rides ever seen on a racetrack robert's leads scheduled pit stops for fuel and fresh tires begin jack smith brings in his Chevrolet passed smooth driving brought him into third place before his stop right behind Smith Lee petty roars into the pit the crafty 44 year old NASCAR national champion must refuel dick petty signals is Bob young petty is in charge of his father's pit crew then the front-runner fireball Roberts Pontiac comes in and the race is wide open again as Robert slows Jack Smith Chevrolet is ready to race Lee petty roars away from the pit walled Apollo Smith fireball Roberts is underway something is wrong his engine stall he can't restart Jack Smith roars past the pets into first place Roberts is out of the race he'll pump me 200 miles becomes 300 with jack smith holding a slim lead as the laps are completed and the seconds tick away only 40 cars still running at 300 miles the average speed including pit stops a hundred and thirty-six miles an hour a few and run that fast mile after mile many cannot some pit stops are five minutes long Paul mechanics attempt makeshift repairs after weeks of practice and nights without sleeping the last thing you do is quit until there is no hope left and no hire to run the steady hypnotic speed mile after mile is the great danger Jack Smith the leader makes an unscheduled pit stop the incessant running at 140 miles an hour the unceasing pressure of competition broke Smith's pre-race strategy as precious seconds slip away lead petia number 42 and Johnny Beauchamp and 73 roar into first and second place with their pit crews whipping them off bleep Eddie an answer to a sun signal takes a small lead Beauchamp hangs on Peddie's tail using the vacuum created by number 42 to pull him along number 48 tow Weatherly is a lap behind there's the white play the leaders enter the last lap in a dead heat Weatherly laughs behind and number 48 penny in 42 and Beauchamp in 73 the leaders one mile to go in the final stretch Weatherly is high on the track lead petit in the center Beauchamp Valois checkered play the race is over both Petty and Beauchamp fought in the identical time three hours 41 minutes 22 seconds Beauchamp and petty both wheeled to the winner's circle both accept congratulations of the crowd in one of the most amazing finishes ever recorded in stock car racing the on-the-spot unofficial decision went to Johnny Beauchamp pending examination of photos both cars posted a speed of a hundred and thirty five point five two miles an hour thirty four miles an hour faster than any race ever run by an American stock passenger automobile the official decision based on photos such as this gave Lee petty in number 42 the victory by a margin of less than one year over Johnny Beauchamp's number 73 Jo Weatherly in number 48 a lap behind took fifth place after 500 miles Lee Petty's margin of victory was one yard besides driving a great race petty was mechanic for his winning Oldsmobile Lee petty becomes the winner of the first 500 mile event on Daytona's International Speedway the test is over the crowds are gone the great launching sites wait for another year in the garages mechanics uncover the secrets of success and failure while the moon sends down a silent challenge in the missiles created here man has dared to ride into the unknown the same daring will carry him into outer space because men have always ventured into the unknown the moon which slides the empty racetracks they soon become mankind's first pitstop a refueling station in the race to the stars